A Crazy Night.

Yesterday while eating my dinner I declared to Billy that I was going to bed at 8:30 so that I could have plenty of energy to teach spin and teach high schoolers for the rest of the day. I hate slacking at either jobs so that best solution was getting a ridiculous amount of sleep.

I woke up at 2:10 a.m. because I thought I was late to spin (I always do this because I freak out if I am late to things but usually I fall right back asleep.)

I realized I was hungry, speed work boosts that metabolism, so I went out to kitchen and ate some cottage cheese and grapes. My BIL sleeping on the couch thinks I am crazy now. I went back to bed, only problem was I was WIDE AWAKE. This woke up Billy and so we decided to watch The Office.

6 episodes later and I fell asleep at 5 and then my alarm clock went off at 5:30. The WEIRDEST part of the whole thing is that I have had endless amounts of energy ALL DAY LONG, I can’t slow down. Billy must have mixed something into that cottage cheese of mine.

I didn’t have a lot of time to get new songs for a playlist except for ‘Part of Me’ by Katy Perry…it is a REALLY good workout song.

I am in love with the spin bikes where I teach. The little monitors are SUPER helpful because you can see your RPMS and I love trying to get each sprint faster based off of the RPM (revolutions per minute).

16.3 miles with 6 songs worth of heavy hill climbs…I feel pretty good about that. I promise that there were actually students, I just waited for everyone to leave because I guess some people think it is weird to take a picture of each and every little thing in your life.

Maybe I was wide awake last night because I was looking forward to some TJ’s Gummy Tummies that my new friend Bridget sent me. She felt bad for the fact that TJ’s is WAY too far away and out of the kindness of her heart shared with me the their V-day’s candies with me. They are like gushers but 1,000,000 times better, like everything at TJ’s.

On a completely random note, I didn’t mention what I got for my birthday. When Billy asked what I wanted, I couldn’t think of a thing. I have a treadmill and my fridge is full of Costco goods…That is all I need to be happy. What did I ask for then? Guilt free money. Ya know, the kind that you can use to go see The Vow again and again without feeling bad, or money to do completely selfish/unnecessary things like a manicure or pedicure or even going on a shopping spree at Forever 21 to buy more of the exact things I already own.

My question for you is, WHAT would you spend GUILT-FREE money on right this second?

Do you have sleeping problems? Do you have a hard time falling asleep? Waking up in the middle of the night? Not ‘hearing’ your alarm go off?

What store would you choose to magically appear within a 1/2 mile of your house?

-TJ’s and Nordstrom (right now we have one but it is CLOSING this month, I guess a poor college town can’t support that store).

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PS My cutest running friend Carrie (we hung out in NY, pics HERE) lives in in Australia and was wanting to get together with other Aussie readers/bloggers/runners sometime. She lives in Brisband and if you are interested email her!! She is hilarious and so much fun..you will love her and she loves ice cream too:) Her email is carrietosoni@yahoo.com

Erica

On the night before my long run if I wake in the middle of the night I like to eat a little bowl of cereal or a 1/2 pb and j. I’m sure it’s a mental thing about not bonking on a long run, but I haven;t hit the wall, or even close, since I started this so I am sticking to it.

Right this second, I would spend guilt-free money on a trip to Africa. One of my bucket list items is to see the Great Migration in the Serengeti. I’ve never been to Africa but I would love to be able to visit a new African country every year! I really want to go to Cape Town, South Africa; to Morocco; the Seychelles; Mauritius, and to too many other places to list here.

There’s a terrific grocery store in Wisconsin called Woodman’s, which has the most complete and diverse selection of food and beverage known to human kind. I can never go there without buying so many grocery stores that my car sags. THAT is the store that I would love to have a half mile away from me. =D

guilt-free money would be spent on cut/highlights for my hair! i’m going on 3 months without it and its looking baaad!

the only time i have sleeping problems is sometimes when i spin at night.. its so much fun and my classes are at 7:30 PM after a long day of work, so the adrenline doesnt let me sleep sometimes.. i also wake up 2-3 times a night to pee, ugh

welll not to brag but i live in nyc so every store imaginable is within 20 minutes ;) however, id love to live next door to trader joes!

My guilt-free money would be spent on… a personal trainer!! and Fiber One bars (my current obsession).

I do not have sleeping problems but when I can’t fall back asleep, I know I need to be doing something else like reading, listening to music, calling up a friend… just something! and then once I do whatever I need to do, I go to sleep no problem. God works in mysterious ways…. lol.

CATO!!! Seriously- they only have it back home (back on the east coast) but it is my favorite store. Earrings for $1, purses for $5, shoes for $8- BEST STORE EVER!! I’m so excited to go back in April.

OKAY FIRST – Carrie should come visit me in Canberra ASAP so we can be besties :) My freezer is always stocked with ice cream and I am pretty much the best friend she could ask for. ahahahaha. maybe.

AS FOR GUILT FREE MONEY.. oh gosh. I desperately need new workout clothes + running shoes.. and proper grown up boring work clothes blaaaah. Oh and PERFUME..and a leg wax (mostly for my bf’s sake. he must get sick of getting stubble burn during the night when i sleep with bare legs).
I signed up for drawing classes today and they were EXPENSIVE and i feel so guilty! But it’s something I’ve been wanting to do for SO LONG and i think it’s important to have some kind of creative outlet in your life, so I’m trying not to feel too bad!

I used to have THE HARDEST TIME EVER falling asleep.. for years. it was terrible. my doctor even prescribed me sleeping pills. But you know what a big part of it was?? I was NOT eating enough throughout the day, so even if i had a decent dinner and wasn’t really ‘hungry’, my body WAS! Once i started eating properly/enough (i’d had eating disorders of varying intensity for YEARS), i was suddenly able to sleep well! Which in turn improved my mood/outlook/self-esteem/etc etc… awesome cycle!

I desperately want a Ben and Jerry’s near my house – my city doesn’t have one, and there aren’t even any stores that stock their products! I also sooo badly want to visit and Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods.. they’re not in australia :(

Carrie B

Hey Lizzi! Are you doing any races outside of Canberra in 2012? Wanna run Gold Coast w me?? :) My fiance and I moved to Brisbane last year from Texas, and I want to meet some fun, ice cream-lovin, runner girls!! Haven’t been to Canberra yet…

I’d LOVE to go to the Gold Coast for some races (I’ve never even been to Queensland.. which is pretty much sacrilegious!). You planning on marathon-ing or…?? I’ve only recently started running again after injuries, but I think I’ll be in half-marathon shape fairly soon.. probably not full marathon for a while yet though!

Rachel

I took my first ever spin class yesterday, and today I am DYING! My legs are alright, but my butt is screaming at me! I think they need to make bigger seats for bigger behinds. Anyway… I kept thinking how glad I was you were not my teacher because I’m certain I could never keep up with one of your classes. I’m beginning to think you’re part machine. I can’t wait ’til you’ve had babies to test out my theory. If you can still kick hiney all over the fitness world after kids, I’ll be certain. :)

I would spend guilt free money on either books, cardigans, dresses and shoes! [I’m a little girly] but on the other hand, a REALLY nice pair of jeans would be awesome too! :)
I do have some sleep problems, and am now trying to reprogram myself to not fall asleep at midnight, and wake up at three in the morning…

I don’t think I’ve slept a full night through in years. I always wake up every 2-3 hours… it’s not good. I would spend guilt free money on a super comfy bed! Haha, actually I’d take a vacation to a fancy far-away spa with my mom and my best friend.

A new vacuum or a new touchscreen universal remote. Exciting, right?
I have trouble (occasionally) staying asleep. I will wake up 10-15 times in a night. Running has helped with that.
TRADER JOE’S!!!!! Jamba Juice.

Guilt Free money is the best! I would get any of these: a pedicure, an hour long massage, some makeup at Ulta, some new workout clothes, download some new songs off of Itunes, shoes, new clothes, since very little of my clothes fit anymore (yay) and the list could go on. I am sleeping like a baby these days. I used to have problems falling asleep at night because I could never get my brain to shutdown enough to drift off to sleep. I am also a light sleeper, so anything wakes me. I also talk and walk in my sleep. One time when Adam & I were dating, my mom found me in my car talking to Adam on the phone. Good thing I didn’t attempt to drive. I remember none of this, but both Adam and my mom do. I would love Nordstroms to be that close to my house, or Costco.

I have a sleeping problem and it is called two cats that can’t get comfy. One has to sleep under the covers on my stomach. Call me crazy but knowing that I still feel bad locking my cats out of my room.

Kristin

I had major sleeping problems when I was little but they are getting better. I still get up a few times every night but when I was little I slept walked and talked. It made for very awkward stories at breakfast with my friend’s parents when I had sleepovers at other people’s houses. :-/

Did you decide to get rid of the spin bike that Billy got you around Christmas?

Your hair looks very fresh and pretty in your picture with the TJ’s candy. I really like it! :)

Haha, you are too funny with your candy! That was so nice of Billy to wake up and watch the office with you. I’m afraid my husband would never do that and if I did wake him up he wouldn’t think it was funny and cute, he would probably be a bit perturbed!

I would DEF get lost in Williams Sonoma or Anthropologie. Two stores that aren’t especially good for my wallet. They are building a brand spankin new lululemon around the corner which might be the death of me.

Hmmm I’d probably spend guilt-free money on eating out because I’m too cheap to do it very often right now :-)

Luckily, I rarely have problems falling asleep. I’m usually out within 10 minutes of turning out the lights! I also fall back asleep quickly (I don’t think I even fully wake up when I get up in the middle of the night), except for once every so often. I’ve figured out that when that happens, I have to just get up and do something or I just sit there and worry about how little sleep I’m getting!

Guilt free money? I’ve never thought about that because I always thought that money or gift cards were impersonal or thoughtless. But, you seem to have a motive. So, I would have to think about that. Probably cute underwear. I never get to splurge on cute underwear.
On another note-I asked for a foam roller for V-Day and today when I came home from my 7 mile tempo run, there was a foam roller at the front door. Dreams do come true!

We would go to Asia if we could, Japan, Taiwan, China, really any Asian country would do. Why, did someone give you money to giveaway? haha….

Typically I sleep pretty well Monday-Saturday, but Sunday night? Man do I get the teaching blues. It isn’t so much that I dislike my job, or my students. It’s that I start thinking about the week ahead and I can’t turn it off. I think about what I’m going to do on Monday and what I have to prepare and this that and the other thing. Apparently it is very common amongst us teachers, I have many a friend who have to take sleeping pills or some NyQuil. Even teachers who have taught for 20 plus years. I don’t know if its anxiety or what. I am however really good about waking up about 10 minutes before my alarm. I am always terrified that I’m going to oversleep.

Oh, man!! Once in a very long while, I wake up and I am wide awake. It’s as if there’s no transition from sleep to wakefulness. It’s just like BOOM.
Then I usually don’t fall asleep because I’m stressed that I can’t fall asleep again.
It’s super boring to wake up at such an early time because I have to be super duper quiet while everyone else is asleep.

I have phases where sleeping is difficult. Like it’ll either take me forever to get to sleep, or I’ll wake up continuously, or just not sleep well, or a combination of all of them.

With the guilt-free money I was going to say something like a new bike, a treadmill, or a spin bike or something like that, until I saw comments about vacations… which has me re-thinking… hmmm… okay, how MUCH guilt-free money do we get?

And a store within 1/2 mile of my house… a gas station? Ha. I live 11 miles from work, which is the closest I am to ANYTHING, other than that I have to drive 25 miles for gas, grocery store, drug store… and 80 miles for running store, clothing, descentish doctors, fro-yo, coffee…

AND Party Rock Anthem and Sexy and I Know It are 2 of the greatest songs ever. Did you see LMFAO perform on the… AMAs? So. Funny. I deleted it off my DVR a while ago, forgetting why I kept it. It was because of them performing. Darnit. Oh well. youtube… when I have a faster internet connection than I have now.

I am so sad for you that Nordstrom is closing – such a travesty. By the way, did you see the new Toms ballet flats? So incredibly cute!
My problem with sleep is that I always dream about doing vital signs on people, and at the most random times.
Guilt free money = shoes, always. I love me some shoes.

I cannot believe you watched SIX episodes of the office at 2am before falling back asleep! And I also can’t believe you weren’t tired! Whenever I wake up wide away when I re-wake up I am always SO exhausted, I don’t know why that works that way. With guilt-free money I would probably register for a St. Patty’s day race! :-) I want to but I am already registered for a lot of BIG races this year (a lot more than normal) plus am in the NYC lottery, so I feel way too guilty to spend even more on some 5ks. Poor me, right?!?!

it’s kind of funny because i’ve had the same trouble in answering people for ‘what do u want for ur bday’…i’ve got a treadmill and other than that it seems like i’m sort of set…haha. i think though if i had a ton of extra $$ i’d buy some treats for my sib’s and family and then take us all (and some friends too!) on a really fun trip! oh, and running would be involved…hehe

I WISH I had endless amounts of energy. This morning I woke up 45 min before my alarm, but didn’t want to get up even though I wasn’t tired. I went back to sleep and woke up exhausted. How does that even happen!?

haha-she was so excited I fished that 1 piece of food out. Sort of like when I find a rogue reesie piecie I guess! I am a doofus and sprained my ankle last night! No hike for me tomorrow, but I think a few days of abs and arms won’t hurt me :) Have an awesome 3 day weekend.

Glad they got there after my ordeal at the post office! Nothing like almost crying in public to make you reevaluate things :) I hate not being able to sleep, but its really not too bad when your energy isn’t affected. Guilt free $ = starbucks or whole foods/trader joe’s shopping for sure.

You are the best, thank you so much! The chicken in the vent made my day! How did your soccer game go? OH MY GOODNESS…I am so sorry about the post office issues and 18.97 by using that tape!??!! NOOOOOOOOOOO Girl, thank you so much again..you are the best!

Just because you mentioned a mani/pedi…I just found out that for the entire month of February at the Aveda Institute here in Provo they are doing a special: $5 for either a mani, pedi, or facial!! Aka a STEAL! You should go and be guilt-free anyway since, let’s be real,that is RIDICULOUSLY cheap for any of those!! And apparently they do a great job (:

Jesi

Guilt Free $$$$ would be spent on clothes I don’t really need either. Or anything I can get my hands on at Sephora. I Love products!!!!! oooh or a vacay sounds good too! Looks like I have no problem spending that money. :)

Do I have sleep troubles? Not really ever…all except for last night. I couldn’t fall asleep and I am a narcoleptic that can fall asleep pretty much anytime or anyplace. Im usually sleeping by 9 every night. (I need my 8 or 9 hours) Last night I fell asleep at midnight and woke at 530am this morning. I think I drank too much black currant iced tea from Jason’s Deli or something. Lots of thinking going on too! Hoping to be in bed early tonight. (Lame friday night I know.)

My favorite store would be H&M. I live in Fort Myers where we don’t have one close to us. IKEA would be my 2nd favorite. We actually just got a Trader Joe’s about 40 minutes from my house and that is close enough for me! Love that place but waiting till the Grand Opening Crowd dies down to get my fixins.

So jealous of the spin bike–the feedback has to be fantastic for your students–they can actually “see” if they are working hard not just “feel” it! So, are you gonna share your profile?! Always looking for your creative tips! :) And, I could LIVE at TJ’s…so many options. Wish there was one close to me! Happy b’day week! :)

Because my schedule changes ALL the time, I have a difficult ime sleeping sometimes. Also, today I forgot that I had done a shift trade with a co-worker…HELLO 6 am wake-up call telling me I am LATE. Crapbucket.